In a previous patent application, referred to in the CROSS RELATION TO RELATED APPLICATIONS section, a new method of accurate signal reception was defined, which described a method to do Spectrum Analysis of RF and Microwave signals without the use of pre-selection, thus allowing a number of function heretofore not possible in traditional spectrum analyzers. These included very fast digital sweeping with speeds in the order of microseconds per frequency, allowing very wide bandwidth spectrum scanning in microseconds versus the traditional hundreds of milliseconds to seconds of time duration of sweeps. Also, the invention was shown to make it possible to have Adaptive sweeps, that is, to have the ability to stop sweeps and to have sweep frequency reversal to more closely look at a signal at a lower frequency without having to resort to a next sweep to do this.
While this advance in the state of the art is indeed extremely powerful, there are many situations in which, with the ability to be able to perform high speed Adaptive Sweep, it is possible to solve problems that were heretofore unsolvable without heavy and bulky test systems. Many vital battlefield signal interception and defensive functions that in the past were slow, required high power consumption, and were very large and heavy, can be miniaturized, made to consume much lower power, and become more easily field operable. This is important for a field based communications test technician or engineer, or a soldier in the field with unknown enemy signals ever present.
In particular, soldiers in the field, especially those involved in covert or semi-covert operations, face increasingly sophisticated and complex enemy capabilities. The enemy today may use any of the RF and Microwave frequency range to transmit signals, as opposed to known narrow frequency ranges in the past, to detonate IEDs, to guide missiles, or to communicate with other enemy units in the area. Not only is the frequency band available quite wide, but the enemy units will be increasingly frequency agile, and capable of using complex modulation schemes. Also, with increased sophistication, the enemy, just like our units, will transmit in short bursts, and observe radio silence at other times. Thus it is necessary for our equipment to intercept their communication fast, identify the frequency and signal content, and deploy appropriate countermeasures, whether jamming, deceptive, or other. Present technologies make it impossible to do this in less than seconds, which is too long a time to identify and react.
Even if the soldier were able to, with some luck, locate an enemy signal in time, he or she has no method to determine how to react without additional heavy transmitter equipment. This equipment has to be power miserly, very broadband, and frequency agile so that the enemy does not intercept this Head Quarters (HQ) communication. The soldier may need to initiate some deceptive transmissions. All this can result in additional weight to carry and manage for the soldier.
In commercial fields, such as telecommunications, with the advent of ultra-wide-bandwidth technologies, the field technician will need the ability to look at or receive signals over a wide bandwidth, identify them for their modulation or information content, and perhaps do some transmission testing. While the time element is not as critical as in the case of the soldier on the operational field, the need for light weight and low power consumption are just as economically significant.
The present invention addresses novel methods and hardware and software based techniques to address and solve these challenges.